President Moon’s special envoy to China leaves Thursday morning

President Moon Jae-in’s special envoy to China Lee Hae-chan is en route to Beijing this morning for talks on a variety of issues, including setting up a summit with Chinese president Xi Jinping. Also on the table is the deployment of the U.S. missile defense system THAAD to South Korea which has placed a great amount of strain on Seoul-Beijing ties in recent months. The two sides will also discuss ways to handle North Korean issues. Lee, who was South Korea’s prime minister between 2004 and 2006, is expected to meet with senior Chinese officials during his stay. He’ll also deliver a personally handwritten letter from President Moon to Chinese president Xi Jinping. President Moon’s special envoy to Russia, Song Young-gil, a lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, is set to depart for Moscow on Monday.